#CollegesWeek2025: How Bradford College is Helping Build an NHS for the Future

Bradford College has established itself as a key player in supporting the National Health Service (NHS) workforce by providing health & social care education and training to hundreds of young people and adults.

Here, we outline how Bradford College supports not only the local NHS Trust in Bradford, but also how we work with NHS Trusts across the country to help deliver a trained workforce for the future.

Designed in partnership with the NHS, our qualifications and programmes focus on preparing students with the practical skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in healthcare sector roles, including filling gaps in clinical and non-clinical roles across various NHS Trusts.

Key Highlights:

• Over 600 students enrol each academic year to health-related courses at Bradford College 

• Over 15 Bradford College courses directly support NHS career pathways, ranging from entry-level (Level 1) to postgraduate (Level 7) 

• Our Pharmacy Team works with over 100 NHS Foundation Trusts nationwide, whilst other departments work closely with local NHS Trusts such as Bradford District Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Pinderfields Hospital Wakefield, and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust 

• Our award-winning Apprenticeship team is recognised for delivering a steady stream of frontline healthcare workers

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NHS Roles and Bradford College Programmes

At Bradford College, we offer full and part-time courses to students of all ages, from school leavers to adult learners. These courses are delivered through a combination of classroom learning, online education, and hands-on placements:  

• Access to HE Courses are often fully-funded routes to university and enable students to become midwives, physiotherapists, nutritionists, and radiologists. These programmes are designed to be inclusive, offering flexible routes into healthcare professions for adult learners, particularly those motivated by personal experiences with the NHS. Many of these students are inspired to give back to the healthcare system, contributing to a more diverse, inclusive, and well-rounded NHS workforce.

In 2023/2024, over 300 students completed Bradford College Access to HE courses, with 206 of these going on to further study at University of Bradford. Successful careers include: 

• Allied Health Professionals – 28 students completed their course and are now undertaking higher education study in diagnostic radiography, podiatry, paramedic science, midwifery, physiotherapy and occupational health

• Health and Social Care – 26 students completed and have progressed into careers and/or further study in social work, public health and community wellbeing, adult nursing and children’s nursing

• Nursing and Midwifery – Out of 24 students completing, 8 are now training to be midwives and others entered related professions such as mental health

• Science – 195 students completed this course and over 70% have continued in the field of healthcare to study audiology, radiography, pharmacy and optometry

Apprenticeships

Our Apprenticeship team has built an award-winning working relationship with Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, winning the ‘Care Services Apprenticeship Provider of the Year’ award in 2023.

Healthcare Support Workers: With nursing shortages hovering around 10% according to NHS Digital, over 40,000 nursing positions sit vacant across the UK. Our Senior Healthcare Support Worker Apprenticeship provides young talent like Mercedes Lewison their opportunity to help

Dentistry: Bradford College is home to state-of-the-art dental facilities, based in the Advanced Technology Centre where we deliver three different dental nursing and dental practice manager apprenticeships across the West Yorkshire Region

Pharmacy: The College Apprenticeship team has provided around 600 Pharmacy apprentices to date, at both Level 2 and 3. The team has a 100% achievement rate into pharmacy-related roles at NHS Band 4 or 5 within the NHS they trained with. All who qualify go onto the General Pharmaceutical Council Register (GPhC), just like Kerry Louise O’Connor (below), who achieved her Level 3 Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship and can join the General Pharmaceutical Register in her new role at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.

T Levels and Foundation T Levels 

Bradford College teaches Foundation T Level students the core skills needed to thrive in the NHS, enabling them to provide high-quality care and contribute effectively to the healthcare environment. These skills ensure that students are equipped to work safely, efficiently, and in accordance with NHS values and standards.

T Level Healthcare students learn ward skills and complete full inductions at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), mirroring training that NHS staff undergo. This ensures that students are integrated into the healthcare system from day one. 

Delivered by NHS professionals using cutting-edge facilities and simulation suites, T Levels are designed and delivered by the local NHS trust. Students learn about the history of the NHS, safeguarding, equality and diversity, and about a career in health and nursing. They also gain valuable work experience in A&E, medical wards, children’s wards, and radiology.

Pharmaceutical Roles

Our award-winning pharmacy teaching team supports students based across the UK. Students receive live online lessons and inductions, joining a community of practice which brings NHS teams together.

Bradford College is one of a handful of colleges that offers AVA L3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, providing people with the qualifications needed to be an NVQ assessor. It is also the only approved CPD provider for the IQA L4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice.

The teaching team won the APTUK ‘Excellence in Education‘ award at the recent APTUK 2024 Conference for their excellent support for students and making meaningful contributions nationally in the Pharmacy field. NHS Pharmacy teams from across the country work with the team to ensure the curriculum element is fit for purpose and up to date.

To complement training and education, Bradford College is also deeply involved in a range of other NHS-related initiatives that extend beyond traditional coursework, further enhancing the learning experience of students.

DFN Project SEARCH: Bradford Royal Infirmary’s support for Bradford College’s Project SEARCH programme for young adults with learning disabilities has enabled students to gain employment in roles such as catering assistant, theatre assistant and A&E hospitality  

Organ Donation: In 2022, Bradford College received £10,000 of NHS Blood & Transplant funding from the Community Investment Scheme. We were the only education provider in the UK to get this funding and this money was secured to encourage students to talk openly about organ donation with their family and friends in order to tackle the myths around organ donation and encourage people to get involved. This work continues as the College educates students about automatic enrolment, how to opt out and in, and why this is important. Students are encouraged to wear pin badges and raise awareness with friends and family.

Health Research: Our students also support and engage with ‘Born in Bradford‘ – an internationally recognised health research programme which aims to find out what keeps families healthy and happy through tracking the lives of 60,000+ Bradfordians. The study is led by Bradford College Honorary Fellow, Rosie McEachan.

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Bradford College’s commitment to developing a skilled and diverse NHS workforce is reflected in the success of students, many of whom go on to work at prominent NHS Trusts. Our dedication to providing practical, real-world training ensures that students are well-equipped to meet the demands of the NHS, whether pursuing clinical or support roles.

By offering a broad range of courses, providing meaningful work experience, and creating pathways for learners of all backgrounds, Bradford College is ensuring that the NHS has access to a diverse, well-trained talent pool, both now and in the future.